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Hairspray's Famous Alums! 28 of the Biggest Stars to Ever Wig Out in the Hit Musical

Hairspray's Famous Alums! 28 of the Biggest Stars to Ever Wig Out in the Hit Musical

Before the stars came out for NBC's Hairspray Live! (airing Dec. 7 at 8 p.m. ET) there were big names who danced in the show's shoes — both on Broadway and in the 2007 movie musical

By Dave Quinn

Updated December 07, 2016 11:40 AM

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HAIRSPRAY'S BIGGEST ALUMS

NBC is bringing the hit 2002 Broadway musical (and 1988 cult film) Hairspray to TV, with a superstar cast including Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, Grammy nominee Ariana Grande and Tony winners Harvey Fierstein, Kristin Chenoweth and Martin Short.

But they're not the only celebs who've danced to Hairspray's beat. Here are other A-listers who've joined the cast over the years.

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MATTHEW MORRISON & MARISSA JARET WINOKUR

Credit: Frank Micelotta/Getty

The original 2002 Broadway production of Hairspray was led by Morrison and Winokur — seven years before he became a star on Glee and three years after her breakout role in American Beauty.

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NICK JONAS

Credit: Mathew Imaging/WireImage

Before he was "Jealous," Jonas sang and danced his way around the Broadway stage in productions of Les Misérables, Beauty and the Beast, Annie Get Your Gun and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. So the pop star was the perfect pick to play dreamboat Link Larkin in the 2011 production of Hairspray at the Hollywood Bowl.

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CORBIN BLEU, JOHN STAMOS, DREW CAREY, DARLENE LOVE & DIANA DEGARMO

The 2011 Hollywood Bowl production was especially star-studded.

High School Musical grad Bleu played Seaweed — one year after making his Broadway debut in Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights.

Broadway vet Stamos (Cabaret, Bye Bye Birdie) led the "Nicest Kids in Town" as Corny Collins — while comedian Carey hammed it up as Tracy Turnblad's dad, Wilbur.

Meanwhile, after years of singing backup for legendary artists like Elvis Presley and the Beach Boys, Love was front and center as Motormouth Maybelle — a role she also played on Broadway in 2006.

American Idol runner-up DeGarmo also returned to the role of Penny Pingleton, after nearly a year of playing her on Broadway from 2006-2007.

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KATHY BRIER

Most of Broadway's Tracy Turnblads have been accompished stage actresses, but the show did have a popular TV star step into the role in December 2003: One Life to Live's Brier. She had previously been Marissa Jaret Winokur's understudy during her Broadway run.

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ZAC EFRON

Credit: David James/Newline/Wireimage

The 2007 film version of Hairspray starred Efron as Link Larkin. Composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman wrote a new song for the High School Musical alum in the film, "Ladies Choice." It'll be added to the material from the stage musical in NBC's Hairspray Live!

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ASHLEY PARKER ANGEL

Efron was just one in the long line of celebs who stepped into Link Larkin's shoes: O-Town alum Angel went from playing a teen idol in real life to playing a teen idol on stage in his Broadway debut in 2007.

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ANDREW RANNELLS

Rannells also made his Broadway debut in Hairspray — first as Fender and eventually as Link Larkin. He would go on to score a Tony nomination for The Book of Mormon, and find success on the small screen in NBC's The New Normal and HBO's Girls.

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AARON TVEIT

And how's this for a coincidence? Tveit made his Broadway debut in Hairspray as Link Larkin — 10 years before starring as Danny Zuko in FOX's Grease Live! He's pictured here in July 2006, posing at the afterparty celebrating the debut performance of Hairspray's newest Amber Von Tussle at the time ...

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HAYLIE DUFF

... Duff! Hilary's older sister played the not-so-nicest kid in town. She'd later go on to host the MTV reality show Legally Blonde: The Search for Elle Woods — which looked to find a replacement for Legally Blonde: The Musical star ...

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LAURA BELL BUNDY

... Bundy! Before she snagged a Tony nomination as Harvard's No. 1 law student, Bundy originated the role of Amber Von Tussle in Broadway's Hairspray (she's pictured here at the opening night party in August 2002). Since then, Bundy's gone on to roles on TV's How I Met Your Mother, Anger Management and Scream Queens — and launched a successful country music career.

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QUEEN LATIFAH

Bundy may have gone from Hairspray to the recording studio, but many of music's biggest names have done the opposite transition, including Latifah, who played Motormouth Maybelle in the 2007 film.

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LANCE BASS

Bass said hello to Hairspray after saying "Bye Bye Bye" to 'NSYNC. He began his run as Corny Collins in August 2007, marking his Broadway debut.

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AUBREY O'DAY

O'Day also joined the cast of Hairspray after breaking from her band, Danity Kane, playing Amber Von Tussle in 2008. The role was — you guessed it — her Broadway debut.

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BRITTANY SNOW & MICHELLE PFEIFFER

Speaking of Amber Von Tussle, it was Pitch Perfect star Snow who took on the role of the Baltimore bad girl in the 2007 movie musical. Playing her mom Velma? Three-time Oscar nominee Pfeiffer. Now that's an awesomely dangerous mother/daughter duo.

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CHRISTOPHER WALKEN

Oscar winner Walken played Wilbur in the film. The song and danceman — who famously showed off his moves in the Fatboy Slim "Weapon of Choice" video – later joined the NBC live musical game as Captain Hook in 2014's Peter Pan Live!

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JAMES MARSDEN

Westworld's Marsden also starred in the film, as crooner Corny Collins. A musical was a new role for the then-action star, who was just coming off the popular X-Men trilogy in which he played the role of Scott Summers/Cyclops.

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AMANDA BYNES

She hasn't been seen in a film since 2010's Easy A, but before taking her break, Nickelodeon star Bynes brought her comedic chops to the 2007 Hairspray film — playing Tracy's BFF Penny Pingleton.

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ALEXA PENAVEGA

Spy Kids and Dancing with the Stars alum PenaVega (then just Alexa Vega) also stepped into Penny's penny loafers — making her Broadway debut in Hairspray the same day as Ashley Parker Angel.

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BRUCE VILANCH

The biggest role in the show is Edna, and her shoes have obviously been filled by a lot of stars. Writer and comedian Vilanch took on the part for two years in the show's first national tour, before bringing his performance to Broadway.

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MICHAEL MCKEAN

It had been 14 years since Better Call Saul actor McKean had been on Broadway, and it was Edna's shoes that got him back on stage in 2004. Since then, he's starred in five Broadway shows, including 2014's All the Way.

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GEORGE WENDT

Norm! Cheers actor Wendt played Edna on Broadway in 2007 — a far cry from the beer-guzzling bro he portrayed for 11 seasons on his NBC sitcom.

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JOHN TRAVOLTA

Credit: AP Photo/NewLine Cinema, David James

And then there's Travolta. The Grease and Saturday Night Fever actor made his highly publicized return to the movie musical form with 2007's Hairspray film. Go, mama, go go go!

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Hairspray's Famous Alums! 28 of the Biggest Stars to Ever Wig Out in the Hit Musical

1 of 23

HAIRSPRAY'S BIGGEST ALUMS

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MATTHEW MORRISON & MARISSA JARET WINOKUR

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NICK JONAS

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CORBIN BLEU, JOHN STAMOS, DREW CAREY, DARLENE LOVE & DIANA DEGARMO

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KATHY BRIER

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ZAC EFRON

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ASHLEY PARKER ANGEL

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ANDREW RANNELLS

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AARON TVEIT

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HAYLIE DUFF

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LAURA BELL BUNDY

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QUEEN LATIFAH

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LANCE BASS

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AUBREY O'DAY

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BRITTANY SNOW & MICHELLE PFEIFFER

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CHRISTOPHER WALKEN

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JAMES MARSDEN

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AMANDA BYNES

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ALEXA PENAVEGA

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BRUCE VILANCH

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MICHAEL MCKEAN

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GEORGE WENDT

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JOHN TRAVOLTA

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